Caleb retrieved his rifle and signaled he was ready.
The team moved cautiously through the trees following the K-9 lead. Shadow halted near the cabin, his head raised sniffing the air.
As he got closer, Caleb caught what the animal had picked up—the faint scent of smoke, wax, and vanilla.
“Wait here. Let me check it out.” He eased closer. The woods had long since encroached on the cabin, swallowing it up. Caleb beat back the ice-covered brush until he stood at one of the windows. Years of grime made it challenging to see inside. He caught faint shapes of what he believed was a table and a couple of chairs—a cot.
The chinking between logs had eroded in places. The wind blew through the spaces slapping the curtains against the wall.
He returned to the others. “It’s hard to see inside. Looks like some furniture that’s probably been there since the cabin was built.”
“Let’s take a look inside.” Ava headed for the sagging porch with Shadow.
Caleb peered into the cracked window near the door. “I don’t see anyone.” He tried the knob. It turned freely in his hand.
Ava’s voice dropped to a whisper. “On three.” She signaled to the others with three fingers. “One. Two—”
On three, Caleb shoved the door inward.
The rusted hinges screeched. A wave of dank, frigid air pushed past them thick with the scent of vanilla.
Ava released the dog. Shadow weaved past her legs to go inside. Caleb and Ava slipped in behind him. They let the animal sweep the room, his nose skimming the floorboards. At the burning woodstove, Shadow barked once, then sat alert to something.
Ava knelt beside the K-9, peering through the stove’s glass cover. “I can’t see anything.”
Caleb dropped down next to her and shifted his flashlight at where the dog’s head was pointing.
And then he saw it.
“It’s not inside.” He pointed to something next to the rusted-out stove. A large vat with something glistening inside. “That’s wax hardening.”
“It looks like the same type of compound from Emily’s crime scene,” Ava murmured.
“You think he killed her here?” Caleb rose and eyed the room in disgust.
Ava stood next to him. “There’s wax everywhere. I’d say there’s a good chance this is where she died.” She turned to Rachel. “Get ERT up here now.”
Rachel nodded and turned away to place the call.
Caleb examined the wax. “It’s solid. If this is where he killed her then he could be long gone.”
Ava shook her head. “He’s close. He enjoys watching us.”
Rachel completed her call unnerved by the idea.
The dog moved again to a small table in the center of the room. His nose hovered above it, then he looked up and barked.
A half-burned candle. Next to it was a small glass vial with gold flakes preserved in water. Under the vial something had been burned into the wood. The same intersecting cross and circle were carved into the rockface the night before.
“That’s his mark again,” Caleb said grimly.
Ava’s jaw tightened.
From the room’s corner, Ranger Larabee called out to Ava. “Over here!”
She and Caleb crossed to Larabee, who knelt beside a chest wedged against the wall. Its lid was locked.
“The key we found. It probably fits the chest.” Ava studied the chest. “We can open it from the back where the hinges are and preserve the lock to test for DNA and fingerprints.”
